Release

PlayStation

JP: March 20, 1997

NA: October 3, 1997

PAL: November 1, 1997

Sega Saturn

JP: June 25, 1998

Xbox 360

WW: March 21, 2007

PlayStation Portable

NA: October 23, 2007

JP: November 8, 2007

EU: February 18, 2008

PlayStation 4

WW: October 26, 2018

Android, iOS

WW: March 4, 2020

History

SONY PLAYSTATION 1

Case art - front
Playstation 1 version
Case Front
Case art - back
Playstation 1 version
Case Back

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a Playstation 1 action/RPG by Konami, released in 1997. It's the direct sequel to Dracula X: Rondo of Blood on the TurboGrafx16-CD. Symphony of the Night steered away the Castlevania series from the typical stage-by-stage platformer to something new and different. Think of it as Metroid meets Final Fantasy; elements of an RPG are incorporated into a style of gameplay where you explore Dracula's castle in an open-ended process. The development of these features can be attributed to Koji Igarashi, the game's director and one of the team's newest members. Igarashi was instrumental in refining the game's control scheme. His primary motivation for the abrupt design change was seeing dozens of Castlevania games in the “used” bargain bin in Japanese video game stores, as linear Castlevania games offered limited replay value after completion. He also established an official Castlevania canon, in an attempt to tie up several loose ends in the series' timeline during Symphony of the Night.

SEGA SATURN

Case art - front
Sega Saturn version, Case Front

In Japan in 1998, Symphony of the Night was ported to the Sega Saturn. This was more of an enhancement-port of the original PlayStation version, rather than just a direct port. It included extra features. They include an expanded weapons and items list and two map areas (four if you count the reversed areas) that are unavailable on any of the other releases. You can also play as Maria or Richter! Unfortunately, this version remained a Japan-only release.

X-BOX LIVE ARCADE

Xbox Live Arcade cover art
Cover art

In March 2006, Konami announced an Xbox 360 port of the PlayStation version of the game to be distributed via Xbox Live Arcade. It was the first Xbox Live Arcade title to exceed the 50 MB restriction placed upon Xbox Live Arcade games (The limit has since been increased to 2 GB). The exception was made for Symphony of the Night to “ensure that the gameplay experience is the best it can be”. With most Xbox Arcade games, it features Leaderboards that track players' progress throughout the castle and features 12 achievements worth 200 points.

At the time I'm writing this (Jan 2024), Symphony of the Night is still available in the Xbox digital store. Also, I need to highlight that this is the PlayStation 1 version with the original English dubbing. It doesn't use the (unpopular) new English dubbing used in the Sony PSP version and beyond.

DRACULA X CHRONICLES (SONY PSP)

Castlevania Chronicles - Box front
Box art

In October 2007, Konami announced a port of Symphony of the Night would be included in Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for the Sony PlayStation Portable. The English translations outside of the Japanese release features a redone (not quite re-translated) script and new voice acting.

The PlayStation Portable version of the game, as an unlockable part of The Dracula X Chronicles, is generally a port of the PlayStation version, but includes some additions and changes. As in the Sega Saturn version, Maria Renard is also a playable character and a boss in the PSP version. In contrast from her Sega Saturn appearance, her gameplay style is closer to her Rondo of Blood counterpart. She uses owls as her primary means of attack and her four animal friends as subweapons. Her sprites are also redrawn, though her original sprites are still used during cutscenes.

CASTLEVANIA REQUIEM (PLAYSTATION 4)

A decade after the Sony PSP release, Symphony of the Night was ported to PlayStation 4 in October 2018. It was a bundle that included Rhondo of Blood, calling this collection Castlevania Requiem. This version of Symphony of the Night was the new redubbed version that was originally made for the Sony PSP release.

MOBILE

Two years after the PlayStation 4 port, Symphony of the Night was released for iOS and Android in March 2020. Again, they used the newer redubbed version.

Battle System

You still go through “stages”, battling typical Castlevania enemies and bosses along the way. Special items or abilities need to be obtained to proceed to new areas. It has everything you'd expect from an action RPG: level gaining, equip weapons/armor, collect money for a store, HP/MP stats, etc. You often need to backtrack through areas you have already walked through in order to travel to other areas or discover secrets you couldn't reach before.

You gain abilities like a double jump and super jump. You gain spells like Hellfire (shoot fireballs) and Soul Steal (steal HP from enemies). You gain the ability to transform into a wolf, mist, and bat. Furthermore, you gain special attacks for the wolf/mist/bat forms. Some abilities allow you to uncover secrets or proceed further into a stage. For example, the double jump lets you reach high platforms, and the bat's sonar allows you to see in dark areas.

Attacking an enemy
Turning into a bat to reach higher ground

Notice the features of the game in the animated GIFs above. In the first GIF, I'm showing Alucard attack an enemy. Notice the damage float up in numbers. The enemy has an elaborate death animation; many enemies do in the game. In the second GIF, I'm showing an example of how the bat form allows Alucard to reach higher ground. Similarly, his mist form allows him to pass through barred gates. It's these small details that make Symphony of the Night a great game!

The Story

The game takes place during the year 1797, five years after the events of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. The story begins as Richter Belmont defeats Dracula at the ending of the previous game. Four years later, Richter vanishes and is later revealed to be under the control of the dark priest Shaft, who was killed in Chi no Rondo but was revived. Richter claims to be the lord of Castlevania. Castlevania is revealed to be more than a simple castle - it is an entity of Chaos, evidently with some level of consciousness, that continually shifts and changes to confuse trespassers with each different incarnation.

The shift in the balance of good and evil causes the son of Dracula, Alucard, to awaken from his self-induced sleep. Not fully aware of what is happening, he discovers that Castlevania has once again manifested itself and sets out to discover what has transpired while he slept. At the same time, Maria Renard goes to Castlevania to find Richter. Maria and Alucard meet inside the castle and encounter one another throughout the game.

My Opinion

Wow, where should I begin? Castlevania: Symphony of the Night needs no introduction to any Playstation 1 enthusiast. Many consider it to be the #1 game on the Playstation 1, or at least one of the best ones. It's a true masterpiece. Gaming enthusiasts reference it as a standard in quality. Its excellent soundtrack is eerie, yet soothing. Adding the RPG element was a FANTASTIC idea. It gave the game a crazy amount of replay value! And at a perfect time too, because the game came out during the rise of horror/sci-fi themed video games.

Symphony of the Night is highly entertaining and incredibly fun. I would recommend it to any gaming fan. It's so good that it can still shake a stick at current Castlevania titles on the Nintendo DS! Especially since the series is still mostly 2D and the quality of graphics/animation/gameplay isn't very far from Symphony of the Night.

What kills me with the newer ports of Symphony of the Night is the new English voice acting. This new dub was added to the versions for Sony PSP, PlayStation 4, and mobile. It would seem Konami didn't want to pay the royalties to continue using the original voice acting. The new voice acting kills the original game experience. It changes everyone's personality. Alucard's outburts during battle are different. It sours my nostalgia for the game. It makes me appreciate how good voice acting in a game can enhance the experience, because this new voice acting lacks spirit. It's sad. Everyone wishes for Symphony of the Night to be released for Nintendo Switch. What everyone doesn't realize is that if that happens, they'll be using this new awful English dub.

Memories

SuccubusI bought Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in 1998 when it was a "Greatest Hit" release. At this point, I wasn't a fan of the Castlevania series. I bought it casually, too; because I was just browsing about... "Hmm, what PSX game should I buy? Hey, Castlevaina looks cool. And just $20 as a Greatest Hit? I'll give it a try." Little did I know it would become my favorite Playstation 1 game, alongside Final Fantasy VII & Final Fantasy Tactics.